I found that out several months ago when I became determined to pay for an upcoming trip to Italy. Feeling guilty that I was traveling with painting friends rather than any of my family members (although now I get to travel with my sister…yay!) I become determined to pay for the trip through the sale of my artwork — it was going to be an art related trip after all. So, sitting down at my trusted laptop, I reached out to local designers, developers, builders, and art consultants and was amazed by the encouraging responses. Not only did many people reply with such kind words about my work, but the timing was just about perfect when I reached a builder who was considering original artwork for a new apartment building in SW DC.

They arrived!!

A few emails, a phone call, a meeting, a site visit, and finally a contract, it was time to get started. Three large paintings on canvas— one 70”x70” and two 60”x94”— my biggest paintings yet! I have always wanted to paint large and after my amazing time at the Virginia Center for Creative Arts, I was convinced that was what I was supposed to be doing. So, I quickly realized that I will need to stretch my own canvases (which I love doing) and found Upper Canada Stretchers, ordered all the supplies and was excited to get started.

The frames were quite easy to construct and I was lucky enough to enlist my super talented friend, Laurie Breen to assist me in the stretching part. Thank goodness. Not to boast, but we did an amazing job! So, three coats of gesso later, I was ready to go!

Upper Canada Stretchers made them super easy to build.

First frame built!

Laurie, me and let's get started!

How do you start on such large paintings? Just START! My favorite part!

Setup for something to work from.

Making a mess.

The client had given me an interior design rendering to use as a guide for the color palette so I set up a still life with similar colors from which to work. I knew I wouldn't actually be painting a still life but I needed some forms and connections to work from. After the first visit from the client to see the 70”x70”, I was freed – no longer did I need to stick to the palette. A little conflicted with that news (sometimes it’s actually nice to have parameters) but I forged ahead, loving every second.

Seriously.Loving.Every. Second.

So much painting, so much movement, so much thinking, painting, flipping, looking, meditating, and more painting. What could be more fun?!

By now my studio now had all three canvases up on the walls, covering 75% of my wall space. Did I mention these were WAY too big to go on an easel? I thought it was challenging rotating the large square piece but now I had two that were 60”x94” that were 10 lbs heavier and they were infinitely harder to manage! Yes, I can see why a studio mate would be nice. Lucky for me, Studio 3807 has their studio next door and my trusted neighbor was kind enough to help me when I swallowed my pride and asked for it. So painting, painting, painting continued to fill my days for the next two months, with some welcome interruptions of graphics responsibilities.

As these paintings began to emerge, it was fascinating seeing how the abstraction of the city became apparent. Somehow harbors, boats, sidewalks, trees, buildings, cranes, bridges, streets, telephone poles, wires, chaos all started appearing without me consciously painting them. Not only did I see that imagery but others who came to the studio did as well. Is that a boat? Are those monuments? Is that the bridge in Georgetown? Is that a crane in SE? Is that the waterfront? Are those office buildings? Sure! If that is what you see, then that is what it is. I love to engage people’s imagination and see how the history inside of them affects what they see in my abstract paintings. They are left loose for a reason.

So, the day came when they were approved, packaged up and off they went to the client. I was sad but excited to see them go, and I cannot wait to see them in their new home at 301 M Street, SW in February! I will finally be able to get some distance on them! I hope others enjoy them as much as I enjoyed painting them.

Saturday mornings from 10:00am – 1:00pm are a sacred for me, the time carved out to be part of an amazing and inspirational group of artists at Red Dirt for what Margaret Boozer has coined “Saturday Seminar”. Artists currently at Red Dirt or those have a connection from the past, come together in the studio (the old Firehouse in Mount Rainer) and we toss around ideas and work towards greater accomplishments in our professional practice (or eat really good food, drink coffee and share current cultural events that inspire us).

So why am I sitting at home this Saturday morning rather than being there?Good question!Motherhood took priority today :)

But before my mommy responsibility, I had an hour of time to spare. So instead of pissing it away (cleaning or sleeping or snuggling my dog or eating) I decided to make my own Saturday Seminar all by myself, a time to focus on something that will help me improve my art and myself. So, after two years of saying I want to write a blog yet made excuse after excuse how I cannot write, how I cannot come up with anything folks would be interested in reading, how it takes so much time, etc, etc, I decided to take action and come up with painting blog post ideas.

After a quick search of the best Art Blogs to read daily (as inspiration), I discovered Smartblogger.com's Headline Hacks - A Cheat Sheet for Writing Blog Posts which kickstarted my brainstorming. (Sometimes i just need someone to tell me what to do!) I am not saying they are all brilliant post ideas or even worth writing about, or even anything I have the expertise to write about, but it was a fantastic exercise to realize there are things that would be fun to write about and perhaps some that may even interest people.

So here they are, in the order they were vomited out! Very little editing. They may be for the artist reader, they my be for the fans, they may be for me alone. It doesn’t matter, it's me moving forward, and for that, I am thankful.

Any suggestions on which to write first? (See, I am still looking for someone to tell me what to do!)

How to understand abstract art

How to hang a painting

How to choose a painting

How to start a painting

How do you know when a painting is done

How to find inspiration

How to choose a color palette

How to choose a format

How to transform a small painting into a large one

You bought an unframed painting, now what do you do

Why original art is important

How to make a first impression

How to make a decision on what to paint

How to be productive when I would rather be (sleeping, exercising, eating, snuggling my dog, on and on and on)

How to be a “real” artist

How to be inspired

How to be courageous when some of a painting is working and some is not

How to make drastic changes without ruining a potential masterpiece

How to communicate without using words

How to fall in love with a painting and make it work in your home

How to love a [blue] painting and hang it in a [green] room

How to take time to paint and keep up with social media

How I got started as an artist

How to use magnets and postcards as gifts

How to talk about your art

How to create smaller priced items to make your art accessible to all

How much I love my studio at Red Dirt!

How to paint a painting in 5 minutes

How to get inspired in 5 minutes (gestures)

How to activate the right side of my brain in 5 minutes

How to post on social media in 5 minutes

How to prepare your canvas in 5 minutes

What do the first 5 minutes when I get to my studio look like?

5 ways to start a canvas

5 ways to start an abstract painting

How to get started when you really don’t want to

How to get a website up quickly

How to be an artist and think like a business person

How to decide if you want to be an artist

The Top 10 classic and contemporary artists who inspire me

The Top 10 excuses I have for not painting

The Top 10 negative comments that plague my brain

The Top 10 things I love about my family

The Top 10 things I love about my dog

The Top 10 things I wish I knew 10 years ago

The Top 10 artists I wish I would have known personally

The Top 10 artists I wish I had on speed dial

The Top 10 reasons people don’t spend money on real art

The Top 10 reasons artists need support

The Top 10 reasons artists don’t make art

The Top 10 reasons artists need to be good business people

The Top 10 museums I want to visit (again)

The Top 10 DC visual artists who should be famous!

The Top 10 things I see and wish I could paint at that very moment.

4 steps to mounting a painting on paper

5 steps to prepare a canvas for painting

5 Tips for staying sane when your painting is crap

5 Tips for showcasing your work on social media

5 Tips for viewing art you may not understand

5 mind blowing facts people should know about viewing art

5 shocking facts about art funding cuts

5 heart warming facts about art in hospitals

5 Quotes from famous artists that will put it into perspective

A paintbrush that will change your life, (okay, maybe not yours, but MINE!)

5 Things you would never have known about me

5 Things you didn’t know about art and your brain

5 things you didn’t know about the quality of paint

5 things you didn’t know that are stressful for artists

5 things you didn’t know about art and healing

5 things I try to remember when everything seems to be going wrong with my painting